TSATSU SUES KT HAMMOND

Posted on: www.dailyguideghana.com

By William Yaw Owusu

Monday, December 07, 2015

Former Chief Executive of Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), Tsatsu Tsikata, is taking legal action against Member of Parliament (MP) for Adansi Asokwa, Kobina Tahir Hammond, for defamation.

The move is in connection with the recent exposé that GNPC board approved huge sums of money as end-of-service benefit for Mr Tsikata, his wife Esther Cobbah, who was formerly Public Affairs Manager, Benjamin Dagadu, then Field Evaluation and Development Manager and now Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Nana Boakye Asafo-Adjaye, former Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation.

Whistleblowing

It was the NPP MP, popularly known as KT Hammond, who blew the lid when he accused the Alex Mould-led GNPC of secretly wasting taxpayers’ money on the former top staff after they had left the Corporation for more than a decade now.

Mr Hammond had alleged that Tsatsu Tsikata, who left the Corporation 15 years ago, had been paid GH¢1 million as end-of-service benefit for work done during his tenure, while Asafo-Adjaye and Dagadu as well as Esther Cobbah received almost GH¢1 million and about GH¢600,000 respectively.

KT Hammond believed there was no legal basis for the payments, even though chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Mines and Energy – the body that is investigating the issue - Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, has disclosed that Mr Dagadu had already taken his cheque but could not tell whether or not the rest had done same.

Even though GNPC has failed to disclose how much had been allocated to the beneficiaries of the largesse, sources claim the money is in the region of GH¢5 million.

Strangely, all the four beneficiaries are linked to the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC).

Tsikata’s Vow

Mr Tsikata, who was reportedly sacked by former President Jerry John Rawlings in 2000, has issued a statement vowing to summon KT Hammond in court “to justify this and other false and defamatory statements he has been making against me.”

He said in a signed statement on Saturday, “I have had a writ issued in the high court against the Member of Parliament for Adansi Asokwa, Hon KT Hammond, for defamatory statements against me that have been given extensive publicity.

“After over twelve years of service to the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) as Chief Executive, even salary payments during a period when I was on leave in 2001 were not made to me,” adding, “My entitlements to the Provident Fund were never paid – not even my own contributions. No              end-of-service benefits of any sort were ever paid.

A letter I wrote to the Chairman of the Board of Directors at the time was not answered.”

Mr Tsikata added, “In radio interviews recently, Hon KT Hammond, who was Deputy Minister of Energy in that period, falsely claims that I must have been paid some entitlements.”

Esther Cobbah

Tsatsu’s wife, Esther Cobbah, had earlier denied receiving payment from the GNPC, even though she said she was expecting some money from the company.  

She said, “As at now, no payment has been made to me by GNPC, though I am owed significant amounts for work done and from my contributions to the Provident Fund whilst I was in the employment of the Corporation.”

She argued that the claims of KT Hammond appeared to be attempts to “deny me my due after the services that I have rendered to the Corporation.”